Boca Raton City Information
Boca Raton is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida and was incorporated in May of 1925. As of the 2000 census, the city's total population is 74,764; the 2004 population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 78,069. About 120,000 people live in unincorporated areas near the city, so that the population with a postal address of Boca Raton is about 200,000. Boca Raton is the largest city between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 86,629.
As of the 2000 census, there were 74,764 people, 31,848 households, and 20,000 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,061.7/km² (2,749.8/mi²). There were 37,547 housing units at an average density of 533.2/km² (1,381.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.75% White, 3.76% African American. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.51% of the population.
There were 31,848 households out of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder, and 37.2% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.81.
Boca Raton has a large transplanted Northerner population due to an influx of retirees, called snowbirds, and people flocked to South Florida from the Northeast, especially from New York City.
The migration usually starts around early November and the snowbirds stay until mid to late April. Over the years, many visitors from the Latin American countries have visited during the summer months, making Boca Raton a year round vacation destination.
In the city, the population was spread out with 18.9% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $60,248, and the median income for a family was $77,861. Males had a median income of $52,287 versus $33,347 for females. The per capita income for the city was $45,628. About 4.1% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over. Over 15% of the population is Jewish making Boca Raton one of the nation's largest Jewish communities.
Boca Raton Public Education
Public education is provided and managed by The School District of Palm Beach County. Boca Raton is also home to several notable private and religious schools.
Boca Raton is served by four public high schools. Within the city's limits, Boca Raton Community High School serves the eastern part of the city. Spanish River Community High School serves the western part of the city and parts of unincorporated Boca Raton. Olympic Heights Community High School serves the west-central unincorporated areas. Finally, West Boca Raton Community High School serves the far-west areas. The four high schools also draw some students from parts of Delray Beach and other parts of South Florida through magnet programs.
The area is served by five public middle schools: Boca Raton Community Middle, Don Estridge High Tech Middle School (a technology magnet school that is named for Don Estridge, the leader of a small group of engineers who developed the IBM Personal Computer in Boca Raton. Eagles Landing Middle, Loggers Run Community Middle, and Omni Middle.
The area is served by twelve public elementary schools: Addison Mizner Elementary (Founded in 1968. It is named after Addison Mizner, a famous architect who shaped and had enormous influence on Boca's architecture.), Boca Raton Elementary, Calusa Elementary, Coral Sunset Elementary, Del Prado Elementary, Hammock Pointe Elementary, J.C. Mitchell Elementary, Sandpiper Shores Elementary, Sunrise Park Elementary, Verde Elementary, Waters Edge Elementary, and Whispering Pines Elementary.
Pope John Paul II Regional High School provides traditional Catholic schooling.
Claremont Montessori School is one of the last elmentary through high school montessori schools in the United States. It was founded in 1985 by Harvey Hallenberg and Nancy Hallenberg.
Palm Beach Community College has had a Boca Raton campus, adjacent to Florida Atlantic University, since 1971.
Florida Atlantic University, founded in 1961, held its first classes in Boca Raton in 1964. FAU is a member of the State University System of Florida.
Lynn University (originally founded as Marymount College, then renamed The College of Boca Raton in 1974, and finally Lynn University in 1991) is a four year co-educational institution re-named to honor the Lynn (Eugene & Christine) family who continue to be generous benefactors of the university.
Digital Media Arts College, founded in 2001, offers bachelors and masters degrees in computer animation and graphic design.
The Boca Raton Public Library and South-Western County Regional Library serve Boca Raton. A second municipal library is being built on Spanish River Boulevard west of I-95.
Boca Raton History
Listed on early maps as "Boca Ratones," many people wrongly assume the name is simply translated to "Rat’s Mouth." The Spanish word boca (or mouth) was often used to describe an inlet, while raton (literally mouse) was used by Spanish sailors to describe rocks that gnawed at a ship's cable, or as a term for a cowardly thief. The name Boca Ratones originally appeared on eighteenth century maps associated with an inlet in the Biscayne Bay area of Miami. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the term was mistakenly moved north on most maps and applied to Lake Boca Raton, whose inlet was closed at the time. The local pronunciation for "Raton" resembles the Spanish pronunciation; "Boca Raton" rhymes with "tone" and "alone" (not with "baton").
The city's early history was as the site of Addison Mizner's Boca Raton Hotel. The "pink hotel" today is visible from miles away as a towering building on the Intracoastal Waterway. .
In the late 1960s, Boca Raton became the southern home to the International Business Machines Corporation. In 1965, well before the extension of I-95 into Southern Florida, IBM purchased several hundred acres of real estate just west of the CSX rail line, just northwest of Florida Atlantic University.
In 1991, a new downtown shopping center, Mizner Park, was completed over the site of the older Boca Raton Mall. It has since become a cultural center for the city. Featuring a landscaped central park between two cobblestone roads (collectively called Plaza Real) with stores only on the outside of the roads, Mizner Park resembles a Mediterranean suburban "town center" with a more contemporary look.
In 1999, Simon Property Group bought Town Center at Boca Raton and renovated it and expanded it with a new wing.
Boca Raton has a strict development code, including the size and types of commercial buildings, building signs and advertisements which may be erected within the city limits. No car dealerships are allowed in the city limits, according to the city zoning code. Additionally, no billboards are permitted in the city. The only billboard was granfathered-in during recent annexation. Some say the city at one time banned the development of multi-family housing. Corporations such as McDonald's have subdued their Golden Arches due to the code. The unincorparated areas still contain restaurants with the classic arches, but the heights of the signs have been reduced. Many buildings in the Boca Raton area have Mediterrean and Spanish architectural themes, initially inspired in the area by Addison Mizner. The strict development code has resulted in several major thoroughfares without large signs or advertisements in the traveler's view; significant landscaping is in its place.
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